mijobooks Was Chapter 110 good? It was alright.
Was Chapter 110 good? It was alright.
Qiao Zhenhai listened without interrupting.
Peng Zhaoyue became increasingly angry as he spoke: "In recent years, the industry of our Lanhu traditional lotus root powder has been shrinking. Farmers can't earn much money from growing lotus roots for a season, and young people are unwilling to learn the craft."
We've tried marketing before, but honest farmers like us don't have the comprehensive marketing and distribution capabilities of Zehuai. After our trademark was registered by someone else, even selling lotus root starch using our own place name was reported for infringement.
He took a deep breath. "Now they've even hired Su Peixue to film videos. Who is Su Peixue? After the video about honey osmanthus cake was released, Guishu County had an extra processing plant. With her filming, the Zehuai lotus root powder brand is completely established. From now on, when people mention lotus root powder, they'll only know Zehuai, and our Lanhu traditional lotus root powder will really have no way to survive."
Qiao Zhenhai and Peng Zhao remained silent for a long while, until the tea had gone cold, and then they both sighed at the same time.
Meanwhile, at the Economic Development Office of Zehuai City, Cao Qihang had just relayed the good news to Wu Sizhe, the contact person in charge of the cultural and tourism department. When he made the call, there was a two-second silence on the other end before someone spoke.
"Let's put this matter on hold for now."
Cao Qihang was taken aback. "What do you mean? I went through so much trouble to get this person here..."
Wu Sizhe interrupted him: "We've already decided, Zhang Qianqian will film the promotional video."
"Zhang Qianqian?"
"Our culture and tourism bureau will film it ourselves; we don't need to outsource. Besides, Zhang Qianqian has over 50,000 followers, so the results won't be bad."
Wu Sizhe spoke at a measured pace, "Xiao Cao, you're still young and haven't thought things through enough. Online influencers have traffic, but they also have risks. What if she crashes and burns one day? Our entire Zehuai City will suffer as a result. We can't gamble the city's reputation for a moment's traffic. Zhang Qianqian is a good choice; we know her inside and out."
Cao Qihang hung up the phone. He looked at Wu Sizhe's name in his contacts, then at Zhang Qianqian's.
Zhang Qianqian is Wu Sizhe's niece. He was almost certain that Zhang Qianqian had gone to Wu Sizhe after hearing about the invitation to Su Peixue.
He dialed Lin Ran's number, his throat a little dry when the call connected: "Lin, I'm so sorry. There's been a problem with our tourism department, and the cooperation can't continue. I'm truly sorry; it's my fault for not coordinating things properly."
Lin Ran's tone remained calm: "It's alright. I won't force you."
Cao Qihang apologized a few more times, then hung up and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the lotus root starch shooting plan he had spent several days preparing on his desk, flipped through a few pages, and threw it into the shredder next to him.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qianqian was sitting in the dressing room, the makeup artist applying blush to her face. She turned her face to the side in front of the mirror, asking the makeup artist to add contouring to her jawline. Her phone rang, and she answered it. Wu Sizhe's voice came through the receiver: "Qianqian, the person for the promotional video has been chosen. You'll be filming it."
Zhang Qianqian gently shook her phone. After hanging up, she leaned back in the makeup chair, closed her eyes, and let the makeup artist continue applying blush. A smile played on her lips. "Who does Su Peixue think she is, daring to compete with me?"
Zhang Qianqian's video was filmed a few days later. The camera was professional and the equipment was high-end, but most of the content consisted of her posing in a modified Hanfu by a lotus pond.
The footage of lotus root harvesting lasts less than half a minute; the rest is all close-ups of faces and aerial shots of landmark buildings in Zehuai City. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a personal photo shoot music video.
After posting it on WeChat official accounts and Bilibili, the number of views was dismal. She spent money to boost the views, but the few comments in the bullet comments section were all "The beauty is so beautiful" and "Zehuai lotus root starch is delicious". Even controlling the comments could not maintain the popularity.
Qiao Zhenhai from Lanhu Cultural Tourism saw the video. He stared at the screen showing Zhang Qianqian posing for a while, then quickly dialed Lin Ran's number.
"Lin, I saw that Zehuai's promotional video has already been released. The people who filmed it weren't you... were they their own people?" Qiao Zhenhai's tone carried a hint of uncertainty and probing.
Lin Ran replied on the other end of the phone, "Zehuai has proactively cancelled the cooperation."
Qiao Zhenhai's voice suddenly rose half an octave. "Alright, alright!" He quickly lowered his voice again, "Lin, don't misunderstand, I'm not gloating, I'm saying... they're blind to talent by canceling the cooperation!"
If possible, please have you and Su Peixue come to Lanhu City for filming. We will cover all travel expenses. I also have a request: we would like to specially appoint Su Peixue as the inheritor of Lanhu City's lotus root starch intangible cultural heritage.
Lin Ran didn't answer immediately. Qiao Zhenhai's breathing could be heard on the other end of the phone. He waited a few seconds, then spoke again, this time in a calmer tone: "Lin, Lanhu City is the true origin of traditional lotus root powder. We have century-old lotus ponds, and local farmers have passed down the ancient methods of hand-grinding, well-water settling, and sun-drying the powder for generations. We have family genealogies and records of the ancient methods; the earliest source of lotus root powder is in Lanhu."
I didn't tell you these things before because you had already agreed to Zehuai's terms, and I couldn't use them to morally blackmail you. Zehuai's capital operations and marketing methods are indeed far superior to ours. But now that they've proactively cancelled the cooperation, I have to fight for it.
After listening to him, Lin Ran agreed.
Luzhou is not far from Lanhu Lake; it only takes a little over an hour to get there via the expressway.
On a weekend morning, Lin Ran stood in front of the full-length mirror in her apartment, watching Su Peixue walk out of the fitting room. She was wearing a light pink gauze Hanfu, "A Dream in the Garden," which was the first design Hanxue was about to launch.
The light pink fabric was embroidered with delicate cherry blossoms, the waist belt was light silver-gray, and the skirt cascaded down in layers. Only a light touch of lip gloss adorned her lips.
Su Peixue twirled in front of him, her skirt swirling and then falling back down. "Does it look good?"
"good."
"Then wear it like this." Su Peixue sat back on the edge of the bed, took a pair of lake-green strappy high-heeled sandals, put them on, and tied a bow by crossing the two thin straps around her ankles.
The hem of the Hanfu skirt only reached mid-calf, below which was a section of semi-transparent white silk calf that was faintly visible, and further down were the lake-green shoes and slightly upturned toes.
While driving, Lin Ran couldn't help but use auto-aim.
Su Peixue pursed her cherry lips. "Patrolman, stop looking. We're about to get on the highway."
Lin Ran blushed, straightened his gaze, and just as he drove out of the school gate and onto the highway entrance, he heard a girl's soft voice beside him: "Patrolman, do you want Xuexue to help you with her feet...?"
"Stop!" Lin Ran quickly interrupted, nearly swerving the steering wheel. Her heart was racing; just thinking about it was dangerous. She decided to focus on driving.
Upon arriving in Lanhu City, Qiao Zhenhai and Peng Zhao were already waiting at the entrance of the pre-booked restaurant.